Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.
The ride to the capital of Elorien was long and tiresome, yet did not evoke Natsu's motion sickness, for some unknown reason. Upon arriving at the capital, the group, save for Makarov, was awestruck.
The city was a brilliant silver, with streaks of blue and green. It was like a ring inlaid with sapphires and emeralds. The lower city was a combination of ebony steel and gold. The homes of civilians levitated on blue and gold disks. In fact, the entire city was floating above a crater in the ground, a bottomless abyss. The Diamond Palace, where the Imperial family resided, was clearly visible, surrounded by a magical barrier, and sparkling like the diamond jewel itself.
As they reached the gate of the city, a floating carriage awaited them. Sorian gestured for them to get in. He explained that he needed to avoid causing a commotion in the city, as it might be unsightly.
The ride to the palace allowed the group to collect their thoughts. Natsu, however, began to squirm internally. It held a sense of nostalgia, as though he'd been there before.
"My head hurts..." Natsu said.
"Relax, Natsu. I'm sure its nothing bad. Maybe you just have a slight fever coming on." Wendy said.
By the time they had arrived at the palace, it was very late at night. The Emperor would be fast asleep, along with everyone who was important in the palace. Servants, who were taking care of cleaning, and guards were still around, however. Sorian retired to his prince's quarters, and ordered the servants to show the guests to their rooms.
Through the entire journey, Makarov had remained silent, and pensive. He had been thinking about what to do when he was going to meet the Emperor the following morning. He had never met the man in person before, only having exchanged letters with him. Deciding to put these thoughts away, Makarov went to bed.
While everyone had departed for bed, Natsu wandered from the group to explore the castle. Even though Natsu had been gloomy from the start of the journey, Makarov wasn't right about him being upset over losing to Sorian. At least, not completely. Since that fight, he had been getting vague flashes of memories he hadn't recalled before. They calmed him and the castle made him feel at home.
Just then, he had another memory flash. There was a little boy in a room with red walls. He had pink hair, and reminded Natsu of himself as a boy.
He kept walking down the hall, until he came to a door with the crest of the Emperor on it. A pair of dragon wings attached to a spear on the up side and a scepter on the down side. It looked vaguely familiar, and Natsu pushed the door open.
Inside was a gallery of paintings of the past Emperors and their consorts. On the rightmost side, was a portrait of the current Emperor and his wife. The man was stately, well-built, and kind-looking man. Emperor Rizael bore the face of a man with wisdom, and one who had experienced his fair share of life's woes. His hair was black like his son Sorian as well as his general aesthetic features.
Unlike other things in the palace, Natsu's memories were almost not reacting to seeing the portrait of him. However, it was different with the woman next to him. Her hair was long and the color of a pink rose. She was stunningly beautiful, and her soft, loving, and benevolent face caused a surge of memories in Natsu's mind. It was so much, he almost collapsed.
The memory this time was of the Empress leading the pink-haired boy from his previous flash down a hall to the room with red walls. She put him in a crib in the room, and kissed his forehead.
"Mama..." he said quietly.
"Never forget: you are the fire that drives our family to continue on. We live to protect you and each other. Good night, my little flame, and always remember that I love you." she said.
"Mama, don't go... Stay..." the boy said weakly as his mother closed the door with a smile on her face.
The flash ended. Natsu left the gallery, and continued down the hall, and wandered into a room with a red door, adorned with filigree that detailed dragons breathing fire. He saw a small bed for a child, but then fell asleep, resting his head on the pillow.